Committee demands release of three Somaliland journalists arrested for critical reporting

A call has been made for the immediate release of three journalists detained for reporting critically on the administration of the Sool region, and to guarantee that the media can cover politics without retaliation. The call was made by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

On December 26, police in Las Anod, the capital of the Sool region, arrested Abdifatah Mohamed Abdi, a reporter with the Facebook and YouTube-based outlet Holhol Media, according to a Facebook post by Holhol Media as well as Sakaria Ahmed Muhumed, chairperson of the Somaliland Journalists Association (SOLJA), a local press rights group. On December 30, police in Las Anod arrested two other journalists—Hamse Abdi Ahmed, a freelancer, and Abdikhadar Farah Abshir, a reporter with the privately owned Universal TV, according to Sakaria, and a Las Anod-based journalist, who requested anonymity for safety concerns. Both spoke to CPJ via messaging app.

Sakaria told CPJ that the three journalists were detained in connection with interviews of members of the public about the track record of Sool governor Abdikarin Adan Haji Diriye. On December 26, Abdifatah, Khadar, and Hamse posted three similar reports on their Facebook accounts.